Computex 2007: Preview Look at Motherboards and More
by Gary Key on June 5, 2007 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Flash Storage
Transcend
Transcend is a large manufacturer of memory and storage products that was founded in 1988. Their current product portfolio has grown to include over 2,000 memory modules of every type: flash memory cards, USB pen drives, portable HDDs, multimedia products, graphics cards, and other accessories.
Transcend has provided us with a sample of their latest 2.5" Solid State Disk (SSD) that features a 16GB capacity and 44-pin IDE interface and is designed for the industrial or rugged laptop market. This drive features MLC technology but with an improved controller interface that should result in write speeds above 30MB/s and read speeds around 20+MB/s.
Another interesting product we noticed was their new ExpressCard SSD unit that features a USB 2.0 interface, Vista ReadyBoost capability, and capacities up to 32GB. Expect to see a review of both products shortly - after all, what else is there to do in rainy Taipei at night?
Various
We have already met with most of the major players in the USB flash drive market and although there are not any significant new product introductions coming in the next few weeks, you can expect improved capacities and speed increases later this year. We received over a dozen samples of the latest USB flash drives from a wide variety of suppliers that will be part of our USB flash drive roundup coming later this month.
Motherboards
We will have significant coverage of motherboards products during the course of our Computex reporting as we visit each motherboard manufacturer and discuss product plans for the coming months. The products we are presenting today are a few that caught our eye during our first visits.
ASRock
ASRock is one of our favorite value/budget motherboard manufacturers and they are releasing several boards at Computex this year.
One of their primary Intel board releases will be the ConRoe1333-DVI/H R2.0 and Conroe1333-D667. Both boards feature the new 945GC A2 chipset that brings full 1066FSB and DDR2-667 capability to the venerable 945G chipset. The DVI/H board is the premium board offering a separate DVI-HDCP card for DVI-D graphics output. Both boards are Vista Premium 2007 ready and ASRock guarantees the boards' ability to run up to or slightly exceed the 1333FSB level with most Core 2 Duo processors. However, the boards do not support the quad core processors. Availability should be immediate with pricing staring around the $75 level, although it will vary depending upon the market.
ASRock's latest AM2 offering is based on the new NVIDIA 7050 / nForce 630 combination that offers native DVI with HDCP support. The board supports up to 720p playback through Blu-ray or HD-DVD devices and with the latest PureVideo drivers we have to say the playback capabilities looked impressive when compared directly against the AMD 690G products. This board also features Gigabit LAN through the Realtek RTL8211B and HD Audio utilizing the Realtek ALC888. The board should be available in the next two weeks with pricing to be set shortly.
Transcend
Transcend is a large manufacturer of memory and storage products that was founded in 1988. Their current product portfolio has grown to include over 2,000 memory modules of every type: flash memory cards, USB pen drives, portable HDDs, multimedia products, graphics cards, and other accessories.
Transcend has provided us with a sample of their latest 2.5" Solid State Disk (SSD) that features a 16GB capacity and 44-pin IDE interface and is designed for the industrial or rugged laptop market. This drive features MLC technology but with an improved controller interface that should result in write speeds above 30MB/s and read speeds around 20+MB/s.
Another interesting product we noticed was their new ExpressCard SSD unit that features a USB 2.0 interface, Vista ReadyBoost capability, and capacities up to 32GB. Expect to see a review of both products shortly - after all, what else is there to do in rainy Taipei at night?
Various
We have already met with most of the major players in the USB flash drive market and although there are not any significant new product introductions coming in the next few weeks, you can expect improved capacities and speed increases later this year. We received over a dozen samples of the latest USB flash drives from a wide variety of suppliers that will be part of our USB flash drive roundup coming later this month.
Motherboards
We will have significant coverage of motherboards products during the course of our Computex reporting as we visit each motherboard manufacturer and discuss product plans for the coming months. The products we are presenting today are a few that caught our eye during our first visits.
ASRock
ASRock is one of our favorite value/budget motherboard manufacturers and they are releasing several boards at Computex this year.
One of their primary Intel board releases will be the ConRoe1333-DVI/H R2.0 and Conroe1333-D667. Both boards feature the new 945GC A2 chipset that brings full 1066FSB and DDR2-667 capability to the venerable 945G chipset. The DVI/H board is the premium board offering a separate DVI-HDCP card for DVI-D graphics output. Both boards are Vista Premium 2007 ready and ASRock guarantees the boards' ability to run up to or slightly exceed the 1333FSB level with most Core 2 Duo processors. However, the boards do not support the quad core processors. Availability should be immediate with pricing staring around the $75 level, although it will vary depending upon the market.
ASRock's latest AM2 offering is based on the new NVIDIA 7050 / nForce 630 combination that offers native DVI with HDCP support. The board supports up to 720p playback through Blu-ray or HD-DVD devices and with the latest PureVideo drivers we have to say the playback capabilities looked impressive when compared directly against the AMD 690G products. This board also features Gigabit LAN through the Realtek RTL8211B and HD Audio utilizing the Realtek ALC888. The board should be available in the next two weeks with pricing to be set shortly.
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xsilver - Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - link
you mention a TDP of 36w but it would have been nice to mention the TDP of the p35 as well for comparisonalso the asus P5K64 WS motherboard looks to have 4 full size PCI-e slots? but it only has 16/20 channels to play with? what the?
Tujan - Monday, June 11, 2007 - link
for computer DIY'ers.?Wonderin the problem with having some kind of pre-manufacturered (PCI,slot,or embedded) module for home DIY'ers. There is several 'FM radio offerings from graphics cards manufacturers. Yet the inclusion of both FM,AND..,..''AM"". What is the difficulty with putting these into a module ready for the standards of a computer ?
Is it the difficulty for 'liscencing',cost of implementation,or are the MB /IC manufacturers waiting for the newer station changovers to digital to take place ?
About the only thing missing from the computer armament presently available.Nice Asus system there.
Would an IC manufacturer need some kind of special liscencing from FCC for these components.?
6/11/2007
Gary Key - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
P35 TDP is 16W, will get the rest for you when I return. The P5K64 WS will run 8x4x4x4 according to ASUS if you load all four slots. Flight Simulator looks nice on four monitors but that is about it. ;)Chunga29 - Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - link
I don't even know the TDP of P965, 975X, 680i, etc. Why not list all those as well?As for PCIe slots, x1 through x8 slots are pointless. Just use x16 slots everywhere. I don't care if they have x4 or x1 or x2 or x16 bandwidth; just do like Apple and only use x16 physical slots. They're backwards/downwards compatible (with the proper BIOS programming I guess?), so skip using anything less than an x16 connector. Maybe cost a few extra pennies for the plastic, but really, the benefits outweigh the minor price increase.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, June 5, 2007 - link
It's more likely because of layout issues. You have a lot less space to place components on a board when you have 4 or more long 16x slots.